MHI Blog -- Today technology careers are largely male dominated, however we are seeing a movement to close the gender gap by major tech companies, public figures and pop culture icons. Girls Who Code is one of the leading organizations in this movement and aims to provide computer science education and exposure to one million young women by 2020. Their programs work to inspire, educate and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.

Reuters -- Package delivery company FedEx Corp said on Monday that it expects to see a record number of shipments during this year's busy holiday season, driven by rising retail sales and a jump in ecommerce.

The Memphis-based company said it expects to handle 317 million shipments between Black Friday, traditionally the busiest U.S. shopping day of the year, and Christmas Eve, an increase of 12.4 percent over the previous year.

Bloomberg Business -- In a mock warehouse stocked with granola bars, breakfast cereal, sponges, and other household goods, a worker plucks items from shelves and places them in a plastic bin. The bin is set atop a small wheeled robot that follows the employee’s every step like a puppy.

For now, this demonstration is just that: a beta test of human-robot teamwork. It’s in the San Jose office of Fetch Robotics, one of a handful of startups working on warehouse robots aimed specifically at e-commerce companies. With the holiday season approaching, the roboticists are pitching the machines as a way to speed up packing without having to hire extra workers.

Markus Schmidt, senior vice president of Swisslog North America, and Corey Ryan, manager of Medical Robotics at Kuka Robotics Corporation, discuss the new wave of motion sensitive, collaborative robots and the unique opportunities they provide supply chains and their employees.

Modern Materials Handling -- Usage of lean manufacturing components and programs is on the rise among manufacturing and distribution companies, with more than 71% utilizing a 5S methodology.

This is among the findings of Compdata’s 2015 Compensation Data Manufacturing & Distribution survey, which reflects the sentiments of more than 25,000 manufacturers and distributors across the country. Resulting in a summary of pay data, benefits information and pay practices, the survey collected detailed information about the usage of lean workplace organization methodologies like 5S.

GlobeSt.com -- E-commerce has already transformed the world of warehousing and logistics, and according to Colliers International Group Inc. everything indicates that this process will continue.

The company recently issued "From First Mile to Last Mile," a study of the logistics sector in the globe's six major regions, which found that e-commerce will create the need for a revamped supply chain, from new mega distribution facilities at the first stage to a host of smaller fulfillment centers and package pick-up options that cover the last mile of delivery. And delivery companies could still be caught flat-footed by the changes in store.

EBN -- Many business owners and operations managers find that their supply chain is awash with a sea of data. But what are the top metrics that executives in this industry should be looking at in order to evaluate the health of their supply chain? It can be a little bit confusing and overwhelming.

There are a great many supply chain management software options out on the market, but what tools are the most critical in order to equip business executives with the data necessary to perform this type of evaluation? Let's take a look at the most important metrics to help sustain a healthy and efficient supply chain, and what tools a software applications should provide in order to produce such metrics.

Food Business News -- Greater supply chain complexity is taking a toll on many consumer packaged goods companies, according to a recent survey published by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and prepared by the Boston Consulting Group. The report, titled "Time to shift gears," indicated strategic and operational obstacles are affecting company performance in terms of service, costs and inventories. Moreover, a majority of study participants identified transportation as a top concern.

Material Handling & Logistics -- The current market reality for shippers is that mediocrity represents a significant improvement over the past couple years of lousiness, based on the latest industry analysis from FTR, a freight transportation forecasting firm.

The FTR Shippers Condition Index for July 2015 stood at -1.3, a score that, while negative, reflects the short-term stability of capacity utilization and steady fuel prices—conditions that are helping shippers contain costs somewhat.

BCG Perspectives -- If there had been any doubt as to how quickly the global economic landscape—and the market perceptions of it—can change, it would have been erased by events during August and September 2015.

Concerns about the Chinese economy and fretting over the next move by the U.S. Federal Reserve triggered massive global market volatility in stocks, commodity prices, and exchange rates. And that turmoil underscored a critical imperative: leaders of companies operating around the world need to move beyond old views and conventional wisdom as they set global strategies.

Reuters -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo, speaking after a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, said his Southeast Asian country intends to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the United States has forged with 11 other nations.

"We are the largest economy in Southeast Asia," Widodo said through a translator. "And Indonesia intends to join the TPP."

Inquistr -- UPS pilots appear to have overwhelmingly agreed to strike. The decision comes at a very busy time of the year for the parcel delivery service. Seemingly stalled negotiations for more than five years could be one of the primary drivers that pushed the pilots to strike.

The union representing United Parcel Service Inc. pilots, voted to authorize a strike against the Atlanta-based shipping giant. The members of the Louisville-based Independent Pilots Association (IPA), the union that represents pilots for UPS, may have unanimously voted for the strike to happen, but there’s no guarantee it will, reported Louisville Business First.

MHI’s new Career Forum enables manufacturing and supply chain professionals to view current job postings of MHI member companies. Go to http://www.mhi.org/careers to find the perfect opportunity for you.

Tech Crunch -- Inventory is a tricky problem for retailers, especially small ones. Ordering too much of an item that doesn’t sell is an expensive mistake, but running out of popular products also loses money and risks alienating customers. A new tool by Google, called Shopping Insights, might help businesses by showing what stuff people in their cities are searching for the most.

Launched in beta at WSJDLive just in time for the holiday rush, Shopping Insights breaks down search data by products, cities, and devices, and illustrates it in heat maps. It also shows data from cities targeted by AdWords, and categorizes searches by devices, which is helpful for fine-tuning online campaigns.

RT&S -- At the annual Brunswick State of the Port event October 20, Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Executive Director Curtis Foltz discussed an ambitious $152 million capital improvement plan for Brunswick terminals during the next 10 years.